Stolen Moment
by Marjorie K. Place
Summary: In the middle of chaos Chris and Merri try to find a moment to themselves. Fluff


**A/N: I have been wanting to rewrite the last half for _Girl Under Fire_ for quite sometime now. But given that it is one of my highest reviewed stories, I have decided to publish this missing moment instead. No need to have read GUF to understand what's going on here. It's a little bit fluff for my damaged heroes.** **Enjoy!**

Merri felt so boxed in as she looked around the hotel room Granger had secured and sighed. The room was actually a suite but with 7 people it felt a little more than crowded. Perhaps that was because both Pride and Granger kept looking at her with glances suggestive of where she would sleep (more correctly where she wouldn't sleep). Granger more so than Pride, but she knew the man that Chris affectionately called King had his issues with her relationship with his surrogate son. They were work issues but regardless they were there.

A concussed Percy was laid out on the couch while Chris had been given the only bedroom. It seemed only fair given that the man was 9 days post-op from vicious stab wounds he had received at the hand of Fod's minion.

Brody was hesitant to join him with Granger in command and fully aware of what type of relationship she shared with Chris. As luck would have it the duo had been caught on camera in more than friendly kiss. One that she was certain that would come back to bite them career wise. But at the moment she didn't care.

Over the last week and half, she had painstakingly watched the man she loved nearly die on more than one occasion: she'd held him in her arms, helpless as he bled out onto the asphalt of that god forsaken alleyway, watched him go into cardiac arrest after barely surviving three traumatic surgeries and waited patiently while his body took it's sweet time releasing him from a coma; All the while living in fear that Fod would strike again which the bastard did, leaving Percy with a head wound and her with three stitches in her left thigh.

Well, Fuck it. She was done, tired of playing the part of the dutiful agent and good girl. She wanted alone time with Chris. She wanted to lie on top of his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beating up next to her ear. She wanted to run her soft lips, probing every inch of his flesh until she declared him healed. She wanted to lay with him skin to skin with their thighs tangled in lovers pose. Ok, maybe that was a bit much given his current condition but she needed something.

Her heart yearned to feel the security of knowing that he wasn't going to just slip away in the middle of night, leaving her with a lifeless form that she would have to bury. She needed to know that after all the shit they had been through that he was still alive and willing to be with her.

Heavy tears started to gather on her lashes as thoughts of guilt floated up from deep inside her soul and settled in her chest. No matter how she looked at it this was her fault. She'd all but dragged Chris into her twisted nightmare when she started to depend on him to heal her from the horror that she suffered under Fod.

Well now it was her turn to heal him, she reasoned swiping away betraying emotions. "I'm going into the bedroom to check on LaSalle," she called over her shoulder leaving the two men in charge of her livelihood to cast incredulous scowls into her back.

/And I'm locking the door./

A satisfying grin slipped over her lips as Granger called out some sort of idle threat, only to have Pride run interference. At least Pride was being supportive for the moment.

Thank you she breathed looking heavenward before she opened the bedroom door, padding quietly inside so that she didn't disturb Chris. He was lying on his side with just the sheet covering over the lower half of his body, leaving the majority of his chest exposed. Given the sound of his deep and even breathing, Merri guessed that he was sleeping, which made total sense given all that his body had been through, but it still didn't keep her heart from running amuck, slamming up against her breast bone in fear. After watching him in an endless slumber for more than week, she couldn't stand the thought of not being able to see his dark blue irises. After everything they'd become her lifeline, the vision that she clung to.

He's fine just calm down, she breathed, reminding herself that Kaliope had given him a mild sedative to help with the pain. As much as she dreaded it, he needed to rest in order to heal.

She took a seat on the edge of the bed and softly called out to him, letting her fingertips touch the delicate skin of his defined, muscular shoulder. She heard him start, emitting a small noise from deep inside throat before his eyelids consented to uncovering the gorgeous orbs she'd thought just a few days ago were lost forever.

"Hey," she smiled softly running her fingers through his short sprigs of hair.

"Hey," he blinked before placing a hand on her thigh.

"You feel like some company?" she smiled, hoping he would at least be up for some quality cuddling.

Chris made another small inaudible noise before lifting the sheet and inviting her inside the folds of the luxurious Egyptian cotton that was covering his battered form (a far cry from the stiff and antiseptic smelling sheets he'd been subject to in the hospital).

Brody quickly shed her clothes down to her bra and panties and slipped in next to him so that she was facing his bare chest. "I love you," she whispered touching the side of his face, her big brown eyes intently studying the pallor that had taken over his normal healthy looking ruggedness that was uniquely him. She was almost afraid to touch him anywhere else for fear that he might break and crumble to dust. Purposely, she refrained from listening to her riotous body commands to devour him, keeping her physical contact limited to just a touch from her fingertips. Though she doubted a firm touch to his shoulder or chest would cause alarm she still wasn't certain how sensitive he was to pain.

For several long moments she was content just to lay beside him in such close proximity that, she could almost feel his eye lashes flutter against hers as he fought to stay awake. The heat radiating off his skin caused her reason worry. After being literally dragged from his hospital bed in the name of protective custody by Special Agent Kensi Blye, Brody wouldn't be surprised if the man hadn't encountered a raging infection of some sort. Being moved so soon after multiple surgeries had to take a toll, leaving him exhausted and in a great deal of pain. Though she was thankful for the protective detail she had to wonder what this meant in terms of his healing. All this moving around in order to stay one step ahead of Fod couldn't be good for him (It wasn't good for any of them but that was beside the point).

Tenderly, she stroked the side of his face watching him twitch at the sensation of her touch.

They would worry about their next move tomorrow, but for the rest of the night she solely wanted to focus on being with Chris, feeling the rise and fall of his chest against her own. She'd almost forgotten what it was like to have him deep inside her, the two of them joined together in a rhythmic dance that only their bodies could understand. Not that they would be partaking in any of that for a while but it was fun to think about it. Tingles shot up her spine as she mentally tried to recreate an image of the two of them Christening every room and table in his house. Her favorite of course was the pool table. Not the most comfortable place she'd ever made love to man but definitely the most satisfying.

Deftly, she ran her foot down the length of his calf before throwing it up over his thigh. She wanted to wind her arms tightly around his back and cover herself with his warm and inviting form but she was afraid of hurting him. He wasn't ready for the type of reconciliation that her selfish body needed and she respected that. But it was funny how a near death experience had awakened her sensual but obviously overactive libido.

Molding her hands to either side of his face, she gently kissed him with soft delicate sweeps, punctuating her words, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Weary he opened one eye and then the other, before reaching up and brushing a fallen hair behind her ear. "Ya got nothing to be sorry for." He flicked his tongue over his dry, chapped lips, knowing he wasn't good for much of anything right now but for her sake he needed to try. He knew that she needed reassurance that they were o.k.

His hand snaked around, anchoring her neck and for a moment he wondered how she would react when he kissed her. She'd been pullin' away for some reason. At first he thought maybe she still had some unresolved issues about the whole Sophie ordeal or maybe she'd decided that she just didn't want the relationship anymore. But given that she'd just crawled into bed with him and both Pride and Granger standing probably not more than 25 feet away, he felt fairly sure that they were on good terms as far as their relationship was concerned.

"Ya must be pretty desperate tuh wanna crawl in tuh bed with me right now." He said giving her two soft pecks. He was pretty certain that his usual clean sporty scent hadn't help up well against the highly overrated hospital sponge bath. He needed a real shower and in the worst way.

But Brody didn't seem mind. She almost seemed to be drawn to his stale manly stench.

He kissed her again, gently sweeping his tongue through her mouth and quickly retracted it. He hadn't missed how freaked out she got whenever they tried to kiss. The kiss would always start off well enough but just when it started to get the slightest bit intense she'd pull away breathing hard, like she'd been scared out of her mind.

Reaching up he ran his fingers through her chin length hair, "So how long do ya Pride'll let you stay in here?" he asked. He was trying not to worry but technically, she was on the clock.

"It's not Pride I'm worried about." She buried her face into his neck. She might not be able to handle being kissed fully on the mouth without a horrific flashback, threatening her peace of mind and any hope for intimacy but there were plenty of other places she could kiss him and be just fine with it.

"Percy?" he quipped as she nipped at his collarbone.

"Are you trying to ruin this moment?" she teased playfully, delighted in the taste of his skin, salty with hints of manly sweat. In her mind, they were here alone: completely alone and safe from any demons that might threaten to harm them.

Chris gently wrapped his hands around her arms, keeping her at her bay.

For a moment she looked at him at hurt. Had she done something wrong?

"I just don't want Assistant Director Granger tuh come down on ya is all." He said calming the fearful confused look in her eyes. They were already on the chopping block for the whole street camera thing. Chris felt certain that at some point there would be reprisals.

Brody frowned at him thoughtfully. "Let me worry about Granger and you just concentrate on getting better." Applying resistance she pushed forward on him until he let her go. "Most of all you need to enjoy this moment, I'm about to have with you, because it might be awhile before we get another one." She whispered into his lips.

Oh Lord, Chris thought as she hunched up onto one forearm, while the other hand slowly trailed down his chest. Grabbing her hand, he gave her an enigmatic smile. She had to know that his manly parts weren't exactly in working order at the moment, right? There was no chance that she would actually want to... Because he couldn't, not now, probably not even a month from now.

She felt the tension in his hand that was covering hers and looked at him through downcast lashes. Maybe she was pushing too hard? She knew he couldn't handle the pressure of her weight pressed up against him right now. But gentle touches and soft pecks? She was trying not to be greedy but the hesitation in his eyes hurt.

"I'm sorry. You're right. We shouldn't be doing this /here/, "she said, swallowing back the huge lump that has just formed in her throat as she started to back off, tears threatening to leak out against her will.

Chris pressed his forehead to hers. He hated it when she cried. With a woman like Meredith Brody it took an act of God for the water to start flowing. She was hurting badly, and rightly so. "C'mere," he whispered taking her with him as he rolled onto his tender back, stitches and sutures instantly protesting.

A small hiss of pain escaped him and Merri instantly froze. Oh God! She'd hurt him! She tried to move but his arms were wrapped so tightly around her that she couldn't.

"It's ok, it'll pass in uh minute." He said with hinge to his voice that tore at her heart.

His brow pinched and eyes closed, Merri watched for the rise and fall of his chest. He wasn't breathing. Here was the man, she'd nearly lost trying to mask his pain all because she wanted a moment to lay upon his chest. "Stop holding your breath." She ordered softly.

"Can't" he swallowed increasing the hold he had on her as if it would somehow take away the fire that had started to assault his entire torso.

"Chris, you have to breathe."

If only she knew how hard that was he thought letting out a shuddering breath that made his pain impossible to hide. He felt like someone had just laid into his manly parts and shoved them up into his back. It was referred pain, but regardless it was sucking the life out of him.

"This is too much for you." Brody started to squirm in his arms, trying to relieve some of weight but he was still clinging to her so damn tight. He was refusing to let her move! If the man was nothing else he was surly stubborn when it came to wanting to please her needs and she loved him for that but she certainly wasn't about to let him suffer.

"Stop movin'" he groaned through gritted teeth. "Yer makin' it worse."

"Ok," she said adjusting herself so that the majority of weight was now resting on the mattress. "How's that?"

"B'tter," he sighed as she pressed her head into his shoulder just staring at him until his eyes become heavily lidded from the sedative. God bless his injured soul. He was trying so hard.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"You going back to sleep?"

"Nope."

Lazily, she started to draw soothing circles on his chest as his breathing returned to even and deep thrusts from deep inside his lungs. "What are ya doin'?" she asked with slight grin. It was amusing to watch his facial expressions as he tried to fight off his body's need to return to slumber.

"Protecting you." He grinned rather stupidly.

"From who?"

"Yerself," he managed to quip, dropping a kiss into her hair before the overwhelming need for sleep claimed him.

Reaching out she cupped his cheek and tenderly started to stroke his jawline with her thumb. Her little attempt to cuddle with him had taken everything he had. Lifting her chin, she deftly kissed his slack lips, punctuating every word.

"It's my turn to protect you." She whispered before settling into his arms for the night. They could go back to being superheroes on the run tomorrow.


End file.
